Realistically, I have about five seconds to capture your attention, and I know it’s going to be tricky to keep you here to read everything I have to say. But I suspect that if you do keep reading, you share something in common with me. You’re hungry, like me, for a more meaningful life. For a better way to tell stories and convince people of your truth. Hungry for better prospects for your future and the future of the people you care about. I strongly believe that better stories are at the heart of how we can accomplish meaningful cultural change. 

As technology shifts and morphs and the ways we access information change, I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the spread of misinformation. On the flip side of that coin, a lot of the good information I think is worth spreading far and wide falls short on delivery. I think many factors are to blame for this. My goal is to tackle them more in-depth over a series of posts. 

I want people to be excited about learning new things, to be activated by injustices in the world, and to share what they learn with other people--but I also want people to be grounded in reality. I want people to humble themselves when they are wrong. I think all communication should be accessible, easy to understand, and inspiring. I do not believe that can be accomplished by parading as smarter-than, woker-than, or more aware-than our friends or audience. I do believe that we can accomplish it with better storytelling skills.

I’m writing this post to plead with you to take this seriously. Stories have the power to change hearts and minds. No matter what you do for your work or what your interests and passions are, everyone could benefit from understanding the art and science of narrative power.     

Introducing the narrative index

I recently read a book called “Houston, We Have a Narrative” by Randy Olson. It’s one of those books that hasn’t left my mind since reading it and has changed the way I approach writing now. While the book is targeted at scientists, the lessons in it are absolutely universal. 

Olson was a former science professor turned Hollywood script-writer, and argues that scientists need to learn how to tell better stories to convince people to change their behavior. I first caught wind of the book after I stumbled upon this article, where he introduces the concept of the narrative index. He illustrates how different presidents and authors throughout history have mastered the art of using it to convince their audience to do what they want. 

I highly recommend taking the time to skim through that article and pick up the book. But this is what I want you to pay attention to most. In short, he introduces the concept of the ABT (and, but, therefore) framework. A very simple example of this might look something like this: there are many vegetables and herbs in my garden, but the sun is drying them out. Therefore, I need to figure out how to cover them up. To follow this template you do not always have to use the words “and” and “but” and “therefore”, but undoubtedly the heart of this framework is the “but” which indicates a shift, problem, or puzzle to be solved. Sometimes the words might be implied, or you can use other words that indicate a contradiction such as however, despite, or yet. An ABT can be done in just a couple of sentences or drawn out into a whole arc of a storyline. When used the right way, you grip readers' attention so they easily understand the problem. Then, you lead them to a reasonable solution.

The revelation at the end of the article I linked above has chilling implications. Spoiler alert: why do you think Trump is so popular? He has mastered the art of mass communication. He has the highest narrative index of any president in US history. 

If you, like me, see the rise of fascism as an imminent threat to our chance at survival, you need to understand how people are manipulated and do it better. I know that might not sit well with some people who read this. But I urge you to take the time to consider what may happen if we do not take more initiative to defeat the popularity of such violent rhetoric.    

Another article by Olson highlights the shortfalls of Al Gore’s climate messaging. Gore might succeed at highlighting facts and presenting data, but he fails to convince people to do anything about it. Gore’s main template that he follows is an “and, and, and” format: this is happening, and this is happening, because this happened, and now we are facing this. It’s hardly inspiring. 

Olson writes: “at the core of changing minds is communication.” I have to agree. Smarter communication is so important because we can talk all day about how power is corrupt and society needs to change to live in a habitable world, but we won’t convince people to do anything about it if we simply leave them with a message of doom and gloom. We need to do better than that. 

Other narrative tools

The Hero’s Journey 

Undoubtedly, the hero’s journey is the GOAT at illustrating how to create compelling stories. Coined by Joseph Campbell in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” this formula details 12 intervals that a hero cycles through to create myths that resonate. The hero travels from the known to the unknown world and returns with insights that change them. 

I won’t spend a lot of time hammering about this, since many are probably already familiar with this concept. But if you aren’t as familiar or could use a refresher, I recommend watching this short video from Matthew Winkler, or reading the book if you want to learn more and see examples of it in action.

McKee’s Triangle

The McKee triangle illustrates three different types of plot structures: the classic is an arch-plot, and the other two points of the triangle are the mini-plot and anti-plot. An arch-plot essentially follows the hero’s journey: it has a clear beginning, conflict, and ending. A mini-plot might have an open ending, unclear protagonists, and an ambiguous conflict. An anti-plot rejects narrative structure, uses coincidence to drive the story, and might take place on a non-linear timescale. 

Mini-plots and anti-plots are usually seen in arthouse and independent films, by creators who are trying to create a new template and experiment with different structures. While personally I feel more drawn to that kind of storytelling that rejects norms, structures, and rules, the reality is that stories that use arch-plots reliably influence people. That’s why so many films in Hollywood follow the same narrative arc. These structures exist for a reason: because they work. 

Loglines

A logline is what screenwriters use to pitch their movies. It distills complicated stories into one paragraph or sentence so that they can pitch their script in a very short amount of time. It is essentially another spin of an ABT framework.

A common logline maker follows this template (adapted, again, from Randy Olson):

Coming from a world where ____________________

A __________________ 

Is __________________

And after _________________

The hero commits to ________________

But when _______________

The hero must learn _________________

In time to ___________________

So the hero can ____________________

As you develop a story, or even before you start writing one, it might help to determine what your logline is and write it out in very simple terms. If you cannot quickly explain to someone what your story is about, they are not likely to give it the time of day. 

The question

What’s the question your readers are asking? What is the answer you’re going to give them? 

Think about this with every social media post you create, or with every graphic you feel the need to share. Stories and information can be rich with complexity, but the question and answer should be straightforward to make a deep impact. 

Give your reader what they want. Write in a way they’ll understand. Don’t overcomplicate it. And don’t just write for yourself if you want to make a difference. (Note: I’m going to expand on this and talk about accessible language in another post.)    

In conclusion

The ABT structure has already changed the way I write emails, social media posts, and even this blog post. I saw the impact of this revelation immediately while writing content for a client’s new website. I can already see my writing getting sharper with this insight. 

I urge you to try it out for yourself and see what happens. Write a joke or a business pitch using the ABT. You might be surprised to see how practical it is.  

We have a choice to use our words wisely to get closer to the outcomes we want, or to continue to use failed methods that get us nowhere—or even further away from where we want to be. If COVID has taught me anything, it has revealed to me how powerful words are. Some people have mastered this and convince people to fall for fake news, false information, and distrust scientific consensus and journalistic integrity (note: that opens up another nuanced discussion, which I plan to tackle in another post about media literacy). It should be obvious to everyone by now that communication is at the crux of everything that makes humanity continue, for better or worse.  

In other articles, I will be further exploring the concept of writing in plain English to make your language more accessible, how to develop smarter media literacy and critical thinking skills, and why I’m being more intentional about what I share on social media. I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Note: Nobody is paying me to write these posts. If you liked what you read want to support this work, consider sending a donation to my tip jar.

Do you want to contribute to the conversation? Contact me or leave a comment below with your thoughts, insights, or applied learning.